Bluestone Mortgages has updated its credit policy when assessing self-employed borrowers who have seen their incomes hit as a result of the pandemic.

The specialist lender says the change will apply to self-employed customers who have experienced a reduction of more than 10 per cent of their business income as a result of the health crisis, but who have since seen their earnings return to pre-pandemic levels.

Bluestone will use applicants’ 2019/2020 income where they can demonstrate earnings in the most recent three months have returned to that level.

It will also consider how the applicant’s business was affected by the pandemic, the sustainability of the applicant’s income and whether any financial support from the government has been received.

The firm says the move will make it “better able to meet the expected rise in demand for tailored lending from self-employed borrowers who are able to bounce back from the pandemic – a community that may otherwise be disenfranchised from mainstream lending channels”.

Bluestone Mortgages head of sales & marketing Reece Beddall adds: “With our updated credit policy, we will be more able to cater to the growing needs of self-employed borrowers and ensure that more of this demographic can access the financing they need as the pandemic continues and consumer demand rises.”